Manu Tuilagi granted one more chance by Eddie Jones with England career on the line
Leicester Tigers centre was sent home from an England training camp after an alcohol-fuelled night out with Denny Solomona
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Eddie Jones will give Manu Tuilagi one more chance to resurrect his England career after he was sent home for turning up to a training session drunk last month.
The Leicester Tigers centre was dismissed along with Sale Sharks wing Denny Solomona when the two stayed out until the early hours of the morning, before turning up to a pre-season training camp still suffering from the effects of alcohol.
Jones banished them from the session, which raised serious doubts over the 26-year-old’s future following a series of misdemeanours, but the England coach will give him a last chance to prove he can have an England while the Australian remains in charge.
“Everyone makes bad mistakes, we’ve all done it,” Jones said of Tuilagi and Solomona. “So we will just assess them over the next period of time and, if they’re eligible for selection...and if their attitude is right, then we will pick them.
“If they’re not, then we won’t pick them. They understand they made a poor choice, the team understand they made a poor choice.”
Jones is due to name his squad for a training camp in Portugal next month ahead of the autumn internationals, with Tuilagi now set to feature if he can maintain his fitness. The centre has not played for England since March last year and has made just one appearance in the last three years due to a string of injuries, the last of which ruled him out of the entire second half of last season.
He has featured in just one match since Jones replaced Stuart Lancaster as head coach, which came in the Six Nations against Wales last year as a replacement.
When at his best, Tuilagi is considered among the most powerful players in world rugby, but the Samoan-born England international has not been able to string a consistent run of matches together in recent years and has been told by Jones to focus on playing for Leicester regularly before thinking about a return to the Test rugby stage.
Tuilagi made his return to action on Sunday in Leicester 27-23 defeat by Bath, in which he played 80 minutes and scored a first-half try in what was a first outing in eight months.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments